Page 32 of Is Anyone Listening?
"Good. Let me know if you have any other…concerns."
I had a feeling I would have a lot of other concerns, but she wouldn't be the one I went to for help, because clearly that would not be forthcoming. "One more thing," I said. "The woman who was staying on our floor—Anna. Did she check out?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I saw her yesterday, and she seemed sad and upset. I just wondered if everything was all right."
"I can't discuss other guests. Is there anything else?"
A dozen questions ran through my mind, but a couple came through the front door with their suitcases, and I knew my questions would have to wait.
I headed back upstairs. My room was just as I'd left it, which was a relief. I sat down at the desk and looked through my notes, adding a new page of facts and theories that had come from yesterday's trip to the library, our talk with Sophie, and my most recent chat with Dorothy. It felt like we were making some progress, but not enough.
My phone buzzed with a text from Morgan: Info on Ray Connors: Ex-con. Served eighteen months for assault and robbery. Got out three years ago. Working at the inn since his day of release. Previous to his arrest, he had worked at Clarke and Sons Boatworks for a number of years and lived in Stonecross.
My pulse leapt at the new information: Ray was an ex-con. He had a violent past. And he'd been working at the inn during the time period when Natalie and Jessica had disappeared.
What was the assault charge for? I typed back.
Robbed a convenience store and put the manager in the hospital. Be careful around him. I have to run some errands, but I will dig into Tyler Pierce when I get back. Anything new there?
Nothing significant but still talking to people.
Sorry again for bailing on the trip. Let's talk later tonight.
I gave that message a thumbs-up and then sat back in my chair, processing what Morgan had told me. Ray had seemed intimidating from the start—big, muscular, taciturn. But lots of people looked intimidating without being dangerous. Clearly, Ellen trusted him.
A door suddenly slammed, making me jump to my feet. Tessa was still on her date as far as I knew. And if Anna had checked out…
I walked to the door and looked through the peephole just in time to see Ray carrying a rolled-up rug over his shoulder. He was coming from the direction of Anna's room. Anna, who had broken a window, who'd left before dawn, who'd looked like she was terrified every second of the day…
Without thinking it through, I opened my door and stepped into the hallway. Ray was already on the stairs, heading down, and didn't see me. I followed at a distance, my pulse pounding.
He went down to the main floor and then out a back door I hadn't noticed before. I slipped out that door a few seconds after him, watching as he carried the carpet toward the detached garage.
I should go back to my room, lock the door, and wait for Tessa to return. That would be the smart thing to do, but I really wanted to know what was so wrong with that rug that it had to be taken out of the room next to mine. While I was thinking, I moved into the shadows under a grove of trees next to the inn, not sure what I was waiting for.
A moment later, one of the three garage doors opened, and a truck backed out. There was no sign of the carpet in the bed of the truck, but Ray was definitely behind the wheel. He backed out, lowered the garage door, and then headed out to the road.
I debated what to do next. He was gone, and it appeared that he hadn't taken the rug with him. Maybe I'd just check out the garage. I moved across the property and found the garage door unlocked, so I slipped inside. There was a blue Mini Cooper parked at the far end, with two empty spaces next to it. Along one wall at the back of the garage, I saw a half-open door that invited me to look inside.
I quickly realized it was a storage room, filled with old furniture, filing cabinets, and…a rolled-up rug. I moved into the room and saw dark spots on the edge of the rug. It could be anything. But it looked like blood, and once that thought came into my mind, I couldn't get it out.
Kneeling beside the carpet, I carefully began to unroll it. More dark stains appeared. And my pulse began to race. What the hell had happened in Anna's room?
I heard a sound behind me. I dropped the carpet and jumped to my feet, spinning around in alarm. But it wasn't Ray who'd caught me snooping. It was Tyler Pierce.
I didn't know if that was better or worse.
Chapter Nine
I cried out in surprise, and Tyler immediately jumped forward, putting a hand over my mouth.
"Quiet," he said urgently. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm looking for answers." He gave me a pleading look. "Are you going to be quiet?"
I nodded, and he slowly removed his hand from my mouth, his dark eyes searching my face. We stood there in the dim garage, both of us breathing hard, both of us where we shouldn't be.
"What kind of answers?" I asked in a hushed voice. "And don't lie to me that you being here has something to do with the property you want to develop."
